Your individual skin chemistry affects how a perfume wears on you. Skin chemistry is reason that the same perfume can smell differently on two different people. The warmer months can change your skin chemistry, including how much you perspire. If you shower more frequently in the summer or if you go out in the sun and your skin gets dry, these things can also change how a scent works for you.

The perfume you wore all winter in the house or at the office may not work as you start spending more time outdoors and wearing looser, lighter, or skimpier clothing. As a general rule, winter perfumes tend to be heavier, muskier, "darker," while summer scents are lighter.

There are lots of great ways to get some summer scents. Since summer tends to be a more frivolous, social, and fun time for most of us, trendy fragrances are a good starting place. Think light.

Great ideas for summer scents are plentiful right now with a flurry of new fragrances in the fruity-floral family. These scents take light, exuberant florals and mix them with distinctive fruity notes. For some fruity floral fun, sample Sunset Heat by Escada or Sugar by Fresh. If you want to get a great summer scent but still want to get something from a perfume boutique, try Little Italy by Bond No. 9 (http://www.bondno9.com) which is absolutely one of the most drop-dead wonderful citrus fragrances on the planet.

Another great fruity-floral line of products is available from Carol's Daughter, which is best to buy from a large perfume site (http://www.sephora.com). When you put on a cheery peach-inspired scent like Groove by Carol's Daughter, you can't help but think of summer.

However, not everybody is going to go wild for fruity scents. Light florals are another good idea. Try Very Irresistable by Givenchy or Chelsea Flowers by Bond No. 9 or Goddess by Baby Phat. These are girly scents, but light and fun for summer.

If you want something a little less girly-girl, there are a lot of fragrances right now that tend to be light and almost cross-gender, that is, it might be unclear in a blindfold test whether they were cologne or aftershave. An excellent example of this kind of scent is One by Calvin Klein. I think it's a fabulous scent, but I only wear it in warm weather.

When buying a fragrance product, your type of product may shift in the summer. In the winter, perfumes and eau-de-parfums work best; they are heavier, last longer, and seem a bit more dramatic. In the summer, a cologne or eau-de-toilette can be a better choice, although you have to keep refreshing it. But since summer is an active time for most of us, we tend to sweat and shower more in these warm months, so you are just naturally going to need to touch up your fragrance more frequently.

A lighter-bodied cologne or toilet water doesn't last as long, but it can help give your scent a summery appeal. If you can't make cologne last, buy a scented body lotion or cream plus a shower gel in the same fragrance. Then layer the product on. Body lotion (or so-called body butters) in particular will help anchor a cologne.

Copyright (c) 2007 Joanna McLaughlin